The had risen it's been a while, a late start in the day for a late end of the day before. Clouds gather around in the sky, signifying that the lake will be filled once again by the breath of the goddess, and that the waters will fall for a few days. It's always like this in Masharas, when the clouds finally break through the mountains just to be trapped in here they are already gravid with storms.You have been called, once again, to the meeting room. But this time with a promise… To know the truth of the creation of your groupIn the meeting room you meet fist Cor Caroli, sitting at the table apparently playing cards? But you have never seen those cards with beautiful drawings on them before.In the same place, position and pool of papers at the back do you see Pope AldivaAmal showed up early, as usual.Harriet rolls in, all geared up, and raises a brow. "Hey, Caroli, what's with the tarot cards?"Cor Caroli doesn't seems to be paying enough attention to notice Harriet's words, she seems to be staring not at the cards she moves but at some distant point that is right before her eyes
Amal: "Sort of goes with the territory of being an oracle, doesn't it?"Serenity‘ just takes a seat quietly when she walks in.
Harriet: "It’s just weird. Like, that style looks like the kind my mom's friend has."Anton strolls into the room looking… rather energetic considering their post midnight op last night. "Good morrow, my dear companions~." He sniffs a few times. "What is that aroma? Battle? Conflict? No… Victory~. Oh, what an enchanting perfume this time of day. The events of the night prior linger still!"
Harriet: "… how are you this cheerful so early in the morning?" Harriet takes a seat.
Serenity: "Low brain activity, clearly."Amal is trying really really hard not to crack a smile at any point during Anton's cheerful little soliloquy and abjectly fails about a third of the way through. "It's Anton."Hughbert walks in and waves a greeting, plopping down, his attention still caught by various files and plans in his notebook. "Hello, everybody. You seem well, despite the odds."Anton gives a wink to Serenity. "Oh how I've missed that obstinate irritability you so thoroughly embody, my dear~."
Serenity: "I can tell."
Harriet: "A mountain fell on us," Harriet asides to Hughbert. "It was awful." She still sounds kind of miffed about it.You hear a light clinking of silverware. Though the Pope is wearing the simples clothes aside from the adornment of her post she carried in her hands a tray with enough cups for everyone and a bottle of what seems to be coffee. She puts it on the table with a smile, and puts a hand on Cor's shoulder without a wordCor Caroli blinks, sighs and puts the cards in a deck again "I am sorry for the wait" she looks at the Pope "Thank you, your holiness"Harriet picks up the bottle after a moment to twig to it, turning it around in her hands. "Oh my god, this is so cool. Is this, like, an early model?"
Amal: "No worries!"Anton strolls to the table and pops a lollipop into his mouth.Aldiva just smiles "I'd hate to break your concentration when you're looking" she looks at Harriet "It is one of the first" she chuckles "Followed me through so many nights, i'm a little attached to it"
Harriet: "Yeah, I don't blame ya. And it hasn't shattered yet? Wow." She pours herself a cup of coffee and, reluctantly, puts the bottle back on the table.
Pope Aldiva: "Oh, some fifteen times already. But they have always been kind enough to replace it for me"Cor sighs again, looks at the party "Well, seems like I have a promise to fulfill, right?"
Cor Caroli: "Telling you why I created the Fatebreakers in first place"
Amal: "You mean it wasn't to break fate~?"Harriet sips at her coffee. "Okay, okay, I'm focused, I'm listening."Hughbert idly nods and sips a cup of coffee. He turns the page and jots some notes… but snaps out of it. "…Alright, I'm ready."
Cor Caroli: "Well… There has been no formal declaration of war by anyone, but we have already been at war for at least six months. First aggressions as far as an year ago"
Cor Caroli: "And we do have a very daring plan to end it… But for that we need to be able to get the leaders of the four countries to agree to meet for peace talks"
Serenity: "You didn't strike me as the back stabbing assassin type. Huh."
Cor Caroli: "You are not the ones in charge of that, we do have diplomatic teams… But you are my trailblazers. All four countries are plagued with myriad reasons why their leaders would choose to refuse our request… And I will have you solve those problems"Anton scratches his head. "You really think you can convince Akavir to sign a non-aggression pact?"
Cor Caroli: "At this point there is no other choice-"
Amal: "You'd have to lock the Prime Minister in a cupboard."
Amal: "But aside from that, it wouldn't even be difficult."
Amal: "Are we authorised to lock the Prime Minister in a cupboard?" They smile brightly.The pope shakes her head "No… Actually that isn't the whole truth…" Cor looks at the pope "Wait didn't we-" "If anything I learned to follow my heart around you, Cor" the pope looks at you again "They simply do not have a choice… Not if they wish to survive"
Pope Aldiva: "Because… You are also heroes, heroes who… There is a great cataclysm in the future"
Harriet: "Oh boy," Harriet sighs, into her coffee.
Pope Aldiva: "There will be nearly no man left standing in the continent… And to stop it, we will need to work together"Serenity‘ covers her mouth with a hand, holds back a laugh.
Pope Aldiva: "Or… Should I say that… We are too late to stop it already"
Pope Aldiva: "The great storm…" she looks at Amal "Your people called the The Shattering, right?"Amal nods, looking a little more serious.
Pope Aldiva: "… The land no longer has the means to sustain the people"She looks back, at the papers she was working on "Between our calculations and Cor’s sight, we estimate the continent can only sustain roughly a fifth of it's current population, and it won't recover for many, many generations…"
Amal: "…which led enough of my people to join their strength to Akavir and encourage a great war at precisely the time no land can support such a war."
Serenity: "Uhh…"
Cor Caroli: "Precisely… But only working together we can… No, we simply cannot avoid the disaster… But we can make it work in our favor. But that will need a lot of cooperation"
Anton: "Isn't there a future where Akavir just destroys everyone and the world goes on, though? I'm assuming you don't like that one and are gunning for an alternative?"
Serenity: "I don't know, historically war's been a great way to, y'know, thin out the number of mouths needing food." Serenity shrugs in Amal's direction.
Harriet: "So does anyone want to elucidate on what this disaster is supposed to be, or are we being all spooky and mystical about that?"
Pope Aldiva: "It's nothing mystical, Harriet"
Pope Aldiva: "The true disaster already happened. But between the lost of most farmable land, the onset of the war and coming diseases"
Pope Aldiva: "This disaster… It is the most mundane disaster, yet no less disastrous"Amal shakes their head. "All the war will do is destroy what infrastructure and farmland we have left."
Cor Caroli: "Anton's right… There are a lot of futures in which certain groups survive… I can promise you, in none of them Masharas still stands"
Serenity: "'Cause no one here is willing to prevemptive bomb the others off the face of the continent?"
Amal: "I mean, that's exactly why I want Masharas to be the one left standing, yeah."Harriet shrugs. "I mean, if that's what you wanna go with…"
Cor Caroli: "No, even if we employ our best technologies we are just one city in the face of four entire countries"
Cor Caroli: "And honestly… There is always a better a way, that is why we oracles do what we do."
Anton: "No offense, but to me it looks like Al is just aiming towards the easiest worldline to achieve. Akavir is the strongest in this war. By backing them he can ensure the world keeps ticking and they win. How can you still say he has Masharas at heart after all that?"
Cor Caroli: "It is… Inevitable that there will be a lot less people left. But we can avoid widespread death. With the proper work, social reform, technological advance… We can reduce the populace to a good number in a manner in which everyone's happy in the end"Cor puts a hand on her forehead "He isn't working for Akavir… Not for Akavir alone, actually. There's reports of him in all of the countries…"Serenity‘ glances at Cor, gives a long sidelong glance to Harriet.Harriet shrugs to Serenity, taking another sip of her coffee.
Cor Caroli: "He’s doing… Something… Gathering something… Worth any price"Amal raises an eyebrow.
Pope Masharas: "If you wish" she points to the bookshelves "The great plan, you can read it…"
Amal: "You're gonna need to summarise for Serenity~."Harriet picks herself up and goes to grab a book immediately.Anton glances to the others. "You know things are serious they appended great to the plan title."Serenity‘ shoots Amal a look.The pope chuckles "It’s…" she walks over and picks up one of the books "Well, here's the summary… It's going to take a lot"
Amal: "What? I was saving you the trouble of telling her you didn't have time for the preamble~."Harriet flicks through the book, grunting at a few of the propositions, lingering on a few pages. She glances up to the Pope when she comes over. She's listening! She's just also reading.
Pope Aldiva: "It will certainly be difficult. Massive cultural change to create negative populational growth, automation of most production methods, especially food. Nature restoration systems. Knowledge and history recording systems. Planned abandonment of the larger city centers in favor of the most habitable land"Anton chomps down on the lollipop before spinning the stick between his fingers. "The real question though is… where are we going next?"
Amal: "What's the most immediate threat?"
Pope Aldiva: "As for what you will precisely need to do… The political unity of Akavir, I think I can convince either the King or the Prime Minister but the country needs to be united. Technology for Terchuan, they might be ravaged but they are key to the plan. Political reform in Orsis, the present oligarchy is entirely unreceptive, we need to return power to the president. Social paradigm shift in Rissan, they need to be less isolationist. Some are harder, some are easier, as for what is the most immediate threat…"Harriet puts her book back, and picks out another specific title.
Anton: "Well, I mean. Obviously Akavir is but they're also the biggest opposition are we actually in a position to stroll into their capital right now? Just five of their soldiers put up waaaaaay too much of a fight."
Hughbert: "Right. Making a good plan starts with splitting a big problem into smaller ones." Hughbert downs his second cup of coffee and starts pouring another, with the sort of expression that shows it's not working (yet). "Just send a memo to my barracks if you need technology. I can't divert too many resources away from weapons development, but that's not all we do."
Amal: "We'll have to crack Akavir in half before we can put it back together again. The Prime Minister will never play ball with us- attacking Masharas for glory was his idea in the first place, so we should get in good with the Akaviri prince, and we should start doing that before they can march into Orsis with Rissani help."
Cor Caroli: "Right now, what was supposed to be your third assignment is actually a serious threat to us right now as well something that will put you in contact with a very specific threat, that I have yet to identify, that appears to hold some keys for the future. After that, all four countries we have… Time, as long as you go after your missions in each the order does not matter"Serenity‘ shakes her head before leaning back in her chair.
Harriet: "Terchuan’s got problems," Harriet says, tone clipped, not looking up from her book. "I have a friend tryin' to help them out. Might be a good lead."Anton stretches before glancing at Cor. "So, what's the vacation this time? I hope it's better than a sewer and a snowy peak avalanche."
Cor Caroli: "This time I need you to stop a Terchuan team mapping the cave systems of the Divine Aegis… If left unstopped, they are going to find a way that leads them into the city"
Cor Caroli: "We need… The group stopped, the Terchuan leader captured and whatever this strange threat is identified…"Serenity‘ laughs to herself before mumbling.
Anton: "That’s three for three with the divine aegis. I think we might have a security problem~."
Harriet: "Could blow up the mountain," Harriet points out.
Anton: "Guy floated down the sewers and off the waterfall of the divine aegis. We had to climb the divine aegis and stop a tank. We have to enter a string of caves in the divine aegis." He counts on his fingers.
Cor Caroli: "Yes, our aegis has a lot of holes in it"
Cor Caroli: "Thankfully, in three months a very special project will take flight… Which is a defense platform with a new kind of flight force gear that should allow patrolling of the Aegis with a lot more ease, even if the platform still has limited range"
Cor Caroli: "Plus we are going to install guiding posts for warp force gear in the cave systems, but… That wil ltake some time."
Cor Caroli: "Which is what this last assignment is going to buy for us"
Amal: "What are the Terchuani after, anyway?"Harriet returns that book, retrieves another, shrugs to Amal as she opens it up.Anton glances at Harriet. "As much as I'd love to see -that- explosion, a lot of people work around there t-." He pauses before staring at Cor. "Wait, wait wait. We're finally getting a flight upgrade? Man I've been asking for that for months! Have you seen Akavirs? They're years ahead of us."
Harriet: "Food, mostly."
Cor Caroli: "Exactly… I believe their primary interest are not physical goods but our expertise"Amal glances at Cor Caroli. "What can we afford to offer them right now? Terchuani are too smart to take IOUs."
Serenity: "If my expertise you mean fertile lands…"
Cor Caroli: "They have already started trying to move away certain Terchuan descendants with some… 'Destiny' rethoric, but they intend on spiriting away researchers and knowledge"
Anton: "Congratulations Harriet. You're going to get kidnapped!"
Harriet: "Oh yeah."
Harriet: "I should, like, mention that at some point."
Cor Caroli: "That's actually Orsis, Serenity, who does have the capacity to move the goods from here to their land. Terchuan does not quite have trains of their own"
Amal: "So you should just open your libraries to them? Goddess knows you've spent enough time babysitting Orsis."
Serenity: "She's the one that said 'food'."
Serenity: "Anyway I'm down for the option that involve shooting a lot of people in the Orsis military."The pope looks at Amal "Why, exactly what they want of course… In the hands of the right people. There are many of their own research institutes that we plan to help with their own research and ensure it's mostly those friendly to us who are in a position of influence"
Harriet: "Apparently I'm a descendant of the, uh… Rapiera? Ranger-knight people. My friend Matheus was trying to get me to help him out with some stuff when shit went down and he had to split real fast."
Harriet: "So yeah I'm probably going to get super kidnapped."
Harriet: "Just thought you should know." She still hasn't looked up from her book.Cor Caroli nods "Yes, I was there. With some luck we can count on them for help too."
Anton: "Honestly I'm surprised you told us more than 'go patrol these caves on the divine aegis' Cor."Cor Caroli sighs "Because this time you need all the information I did manage to ascertain"
Cor Caroli: "Because i'm sending you to your deaths" she looks at Anton "The chance of success of the operation is a little over twelve percent. You will need to intercept the mapping team from a vantage point, you will need to find them to begin with, you will need to be able to subdue a team of nine… Yet the only chance of success, at all, is that…"
Cor Caroli: "I don't like making bets… But you have to sometimes"Anton wags his finger. "Please, Cor. I'm going to be the next Divine Oracle. Conditional probability!"Harriet shrugs, returning the book to the shelf and straightening up. "Don't worry about it. You've got a problem, I solve problems. When are we leaving?"Amal smiles and looks like they don't really have a problem with those odds.
Cor Caroli: "Within the hour"
Harriet: "Cool. I'm gonna keep reading, then. You guys come yell at me when you're ready to leave." She pulls out another book.
Hughbert: "Do we have maps of the cave system on hand? Knowing some sort of expected path, or exit, or point of entry would help narrow down the search."
Serenity: "Man, I'd really hope someone within the past couple hundrand years around here had bothered to map out the cave network."
Cor Caroli: "We do have a map, yes, pretty detailed."
Cor Caroli: "You are going in the areas the map doesn't cover"
Cor Caroli: "Because why would you, honestly"She sighs, annoyed
Serenity: "Good job, ancestors."
Hughbert: "That narrows it down, I suppose."
Cor Caroli: "You can probably get the map in the city planning division on the way out, Hughbert. That or archival division."Anton slams his fist into his hand. "Alrighty then. Let's take down some invaders. Y'know Cor, you could have just said 'go to the caves and shoot the invaders'. It's pretty much the same thing!"
Hughbert: "It might not do much, but it certainly won't hurt. I'll get a copy before we go."Serenity‘ slides out of her chair and heads out of the room. "Gunna go grab a flashlight. Gears aren’t gunna give off enough light for hours inside caves."
Amal: "Mind if I take a look at the map?"
Hughbert: "Go right ahead. Then, if you'll excuse me, the sooner I get it, the better." He stands up and heads out to the archives.Anton trails after Serenity.
Serenity: "Just can't keep away, can ya?"Harriet is gonna stick in the meeting room reading those books until she's told to leave, pretty much.Anton scratches his head before smiling. "Ha. You noticed! Please don't mind me, just carry on!"
Serenity: "That was the plan."The map is available as soon as Hughbert gets it. When you are ready to reconvene you have waiting for you someone to guide you to the cable car and, from there, you'll have to unfortunately take a carriage to the edge of the mountain itself since there's currently no offroad vehicle available, at the very least the carriage will have a very good suspension system so no rocking.
Anton: "This does after all seem like the most efficient way to find out where the flashlights are. And to acquire one!" He nods seriously.
Serenity: "Yeah, fair enough."Serenity‘ grabs two from the lab she’s working in, spend a couple minutes to mount one to a head strap before handing in to Anton, then setting up a way to attach the other one onto her rifle before heading back to the gourp.Amal glances over the map exactly once and then nods.Harriet shows up at the reconvening too, probably because someone reminded her. She's not five minutes late with Starbucks but she looks like she'd really like to be.Hughbert studies the map intently, trying to figure out what unmapped areas would look like.Serenity‘ sizes up the carriage before climbing in. "Guess it’s not as urgant as it was last time…?"
Harriet: "Yeah, guess not."
Anton: "No fire bombing I'm afraid. Sorry to disappoint."Hughbert shows Amal the map (after climbing in) and traces a very large area of the map with a finger, frowning. "That… looks like the general area. All of that."Amal nods, frowning, furrowing their brow a little. "…well, don't worry. With a little luck we'll find our way through."
Anton: "I'm in a pretty good mood, though. Before the last mission the number of futures that had us still around was… not all that promising. It still isn't but it's a lot higher than it was before!" He gives a thumbs up.
Anton: "That mountain with Al? Way lower than 12 percent for the record."
Serenity: "Sucks to be future you, I guess."Amal gives Anton a goofy thumbs up.Anton doesn't seem terribly interested in the actual map. But that shouldn't be that surprising. He's looking out the tram window.The ride isn't all that bad. Plus the driver brought sandwiches for everyone since the trip took a while? Still, soon enough you're at the cave entrance, a thin crack in the wall that you need to enter sideways, but no more than thirty centimeters in opens into a wide open space inside.
Serenity: "Demons first."Amal spaces out for a second and has to get nudged by someone at the cave entrance but then grins at Serenity and scoots their way in and looks around.
Anton: "Come now, Serenity. It's not his fault he's artificial!"Hughbert follows in. "…What did I miss last night?"
Serenity: "A hand of negative energy ripped open the fabric of reality and pulled Amal outside."Harriet forgot to eat today. The sandwiches are an amazing boon. She shimmies her way through, having to angle her Electricity Conduction Cannon so it doesn't get caught.Serenity‘ shoves Anton towards the entrance before following him in afterwards.Anton pulls in his gut as he squeezes into the crack. "Oof. Maybe I need to lay back on those lollipops after all. I only had seventeen this morning."
Amal: "Huh that’s interesting. Remind me to ask you what stuff looks like all the time. Anyways, left up here." There's not even an intersection visible???
Serenity: "Uh, alright. Turn your light on Anton."The cave is dark, you are likely to be eaten by a grue. Or not, because you brought flashlights. The cave stretches forward a good ways- There definitely is no itnersection visible, but after heading in a while there's a passage leftwards that heads off the main path, going very slightly up in a rocky pathAnton nods before turning on his flashlight. "Have no fear, my comrades. For I, Anton will brave the darkness first!"
Serenity: "Second is LIKE first."Amal points at the passage leftwards and smirks, scramble scramble.Harriet is perfectly happy to let them both go first, t b h.
Anton: "That said, I am curious why you think the hand and Amal are one and the same, Serenity."
Serenity: "Didn't say they were."Amal pauses for a second before the next intersection and… points towards their right.You head through the left passage and it leads to a rather uncomfortable area, small droplets of water form stalactites and stalagmites in the area with rather low ceiling. There's a slight slant upwards and thick pillars of stone split the path three-ways left, middle and right. They are probably lead to the same place, just that thick stalactites and stalagmites fused in a great pillar splitting the path for a moment
JayM: To the right it isAmal rubs at their shoulder a little bit and shakes their head. "I don't like caves."
Serenity: "Less gross than the sewer. And quieter."The path continues to curve gently and you realize that this is an actual path split, as it heads slightly up and around the ceiling gets higher and higher until there's position to stand up fully. The path continues arcing around in a circle to the right but there's a different perpendicular path heading right ahead, there's a light sound of… Something hitting the stone from there
Amal: "True I guess."
Anton: "Were we able to see where we were going it wouldn't be so bad. As is, I doubt I can make use of my force gear without crashing."
Serenity: Something wet, or something solid?
Serenity: "Uh. Yeah flying in a cave is a no-go."
JayM: Solid on solid
Amal: "Don't worry about it!" They wander onward for a few steps before stopping abruptly and turning right, shaking their head. "This way."Serenity‘ glances towards the sound, then Amal, then back towards the sound when he starts moving again. "More people ahead…?"Harriet shrugs, following Amal.Serenity` scratches at the back of her head. "Banging noise?"Amal shakes their head. "Don’t think so."
Serenity: "Hmm."
Serenity: "So."
Serenity: "I do a lot of finding ragnite deposites for people to extract,"
Serenity: "But I'm not super familiar with, uh, how cavern systems for naturally I guess? Is there any reason loose rocks might be falling? That doesn't seem like it makes much sense to me, but I'm running off the assumption cave paths are made by water and wind corrosion, like canyons."
Amal: "I think it's just landslide debris from a long time ago! It's just amplified by the cavern so it seems louder than it is?"
Serenity: "Hm. I guess that might make sense."Heading right and arcing upwards slightly the ceiling gets higher and higher until it is quite a distance upwards. The wall to your right isn't perfectly vertical, it's more like a fourty degree angle, the path continues forward.Anton pulls a lollipop out of his jacket with one hand and sticks it in his mouth while still holding the flashlight. He seems to have taken some from the meeting room. "Nob-dies ne-by at le-st."
Harriet: "Sometimes the ragnite self-ignites, that could be it."Serenity‘ laughs to herself.Amal chuckles a little bit. "That was -like- words, Anton." Then they pause for a second and frown.Anton rolls a shrug before pulling the lollipop out. "You understood it."
Amal: "Ugh." They look -up- the wall, like they’re looking for something, then they start scrambling up the wall. "Okay, follow me."
Serenity: "S'what we've been doing."The wall isn't too difficult to climb, even a beginner could. Thankfully the rocks you hold on to aren't jagged or anything so the climb is a little tiresome but otherwise without a problem. It leads to what looks like a small dried riverbed that makes for a nice stop… The wall continues upwards, and there's the ways left and right here where the 'river' once was, but… The light hint of ragnite dust in the floor indicates this was probably once a ragnite vein
Amal: "Yeah well now we have to climb a dumb wall so, hang in there." They start scrambling up, it's not too bad at least. They don't stop at the dried riverbed either, continuing even further up the wall.Harriet clambers up the wall, breathing a bit heavier than when she started as she goes. Her gear is heavy to lug around, okay. :(A different plateau, the rock here looks slightly different from what was further below, you're probably in a very different level. There's what looks like a hole, it drops right below and it's not too far, you could jump down if you wanted, and to you right there's a way further, there is al ot of humidity that way and the floor looks a little wetSerenity‘ scruches up her face and looks up. There’s light coming down from a hole up there, right…?
JayM: A single mote of light…
JayM: Man that's far
Anton: "Want me to check it out?"
Serenity: "Make a note of this spot, it's probably a good way to slip into the mountain without anyone knowing about it."
Amal: "Naw, hang on."Amal takes a deep breath and scrunches their face up looking irritated.Amal tiptoes over to the wall behind them all and knocks on it with the butt of their staff, tiredly.
Serenity: "Are you… magicing up stairs or something?"
Harriet: "Please tell me you're magicking up stairs."One hit… Two hits… The wall is weak and collapses, there's an opening behind itThe opening heads something leftwards and higher and right and going slightly below
Serenity: "Close enough."Amal whistles a little jaunty you-discovered-the-secret-entrance arpeggio and saunters in, turning to the right.
Serenity: "Out of mild curiosity what are you navigating with, intuition…?"Harriet followin' Amal.Further right you head a little below, you hear a noise far in the distance. The path splits in two ahead of you, noise echoing stronger in the left
Amal: "Sorta. It's hard to explain." They scrunch up their face a little and shake their head, continuing to the right!You head further right, and slowly the noise becomes more identifieable… Rushing water
Serenity: "Okay then."Following the way you finally notice a different sound… Voices in the distanceSerenity‘ reaches forward and turns off Anton’s light.Amal puts a finger to their lips, nods at Serenity, edges forward carefully, looking around.Anton scrunches up his face. "Nine of them."There's some laugher, the sound of a lazy river getting in the way of identifying the voices. You reach at last a drop of sorts, it's a wide open room, a lazy river flows from an opening in the stone far below you, you're at an elevated platform. "No, no, stop it! You're too damn big get offa me you oaf!"There's laugherSerenity‘ mouths ’no shit' at Anton, not that he can see it, and creeps along after Amal.As you approach the edge you look further down and you see the group below… Nine soldiers, clearly Rissan mercenaries, leading them is a man that looks different carrying a map and a large cylindric contraption about the size of Harriet's force gear on his backOn the floor is a rather large burly man grapplying with what seems like a large savannah cat wearing some form of jacket, the glow of ragnite is visible on the jacketEveryone's laughing at the two's anticsSerenity‘ takes a look… then scoots back and makes room for Harriet and her big ass gun.Harriet steps up, spins up her cannon with a few cool new settings she’s added in…Amal raises an eyebrow and then spaces out for a second, then… grins hugely at Serenity and nods, pointing at the cave wall the river's coming from. "(Get 'em all with one shot. There's tons more pressure behind that cave wall.)"
Harriet: "(Gotcha.)" Harriet aims for the cave wall, as directed, and fires!The powerful surge of lightning strikes the wall like the blow of a hammer, shattering the rock- Thinner than expectedWater surges with the force only nature can muster, the people below look at the water in horror- One of them has the presence of spirit to do something, their lead points up and something comes out of his sleeves- A snake? But it looks wrong somehow. It clamps it's fangs deep in the rock a distance above and he uses it to drag himself above the rushing waterThe man grappling the cat shouts an expletive but instead of doing anything anything else actives the cat's force gear- Moving too fast to be seen the cat jumps up the rocks to a nearby plateau, there's a small rock formation just close by it manages to get up to be… The rest of the team is washed awayAfter a few moments the water stops rushing so strongly, going back to a (now much wider) lazy riverSerenity‘ watches one of the guys use some sort of grapple hook adjacent device… shakes her head, lines up a shot on it, then fires.Harriet spins up her cannon, fires on the rock formation the man and cat jumped up onto.The device… Moves on it’s own- With unnatural force changes the man's path and sends him flying upwards towards the party. The cat dodges the second shot, meowls deeply at you and starts jumping up
Mapper: "You! Grrr!"
Serenity: "Huh."Amal waves cheerfully.
Serenity: "That's cool. Gunna see if I can recover it without breaking it."
Harriet: "Oh yeah, definitely."You're forced take a step back as he swings what he's holding at you like a whip, then tosses it to the side and it… Slithers behind him as the cat jumps there too. It is a snakeHarriet staggers back, putting Hughbert between herself and the menagerie.It is however strange, it has spiky ridges on it's back made of translucent blue-ish material, so are it's fangs as it opens it's mouth wide at you. Large enough a snake to bind a man in place should they wishSerenity‘ takes a couple steps back honestly.Hughbert activates his own force gear during the ambush to give the surge of water an extra push, washing everything along with even more rapidity.
Serenity: "Turns out."
Mapper: "I don’t know how you found me, but you're going to pay for what you did"
Serenity: "When you try and invade a country with oracles… they notice?"
Amal: "Huh nobody told me they had magic snakes in Terchuan. Maybe we have stuff to teach other after all and it won't all be one-sided!"Serenity‘ even started answering his question before he asked it!
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Serenity [B]:0 Harriet [B]:2 Anton [B]:2 Hughbert [F]:2 Large Cat [B]:3 Strange Snake [B]:3 Mapper [B]:6 Inertia Canceller:10
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [======= ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [B]: : [======== ]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [B]: : [====== ]
JayM: Amal you have the upper hand!
Harriet: "Guy, I’m just here to make cool shit and then shoot it off at people."Anton holds back a yawn before waving to the guy. "Usually I ask for a confession about now, but that punchline is getting a bit overused. Want to just surrender?"
Amal: "Anyways before we knock you out because you won't just stand down and talk to us like a normal human being and come in peacefully I thought I should let you know that we'll do our best to help you and the people you work for get what you wanted without even having to fight us! It'll be much easier that way!" [CT 10]
Mapper: "After coming this far you damn well believe i'm not giving up on my mission!"
JayM: Serenity!
Amal: "Also that's a Rissani trained attack cat, they have, uh, tail cannons. That they're trained to know how to use. Black Stingers spec ops, so don't just… not take it seriously because it's a cat with a gun on its tail okay?"
Anton: "I wouldn't waste your breath, Amal. Cor already determined we wouldn't be handling the negotiations. We just get to shoot things~."Serenity‘ makes a shrugging motion, hefting her rifle up long enough to pull the tigger and then set it down again. [50D] [Sniper Beam @ 60D]
Harriet: "Okay, but how does the cat know how to use a gun?!"
Anton: "This guy was fated to be stubborn."
Amal: "Don’t ask me, I'm not Black Stingers."
JayM: Harriet!
Harriet: "It's a cat! Cats have very small brain-to-body-mass ratio! And they're stubborn! Have you ever tried to train a cat?! I tried, once. Never again. That thing's gotta go." Harriet flicks a few switches, and her ECC leaps into action, spinning so rapidly it threatens to leap off of its hinges. [Luck -1 to make it 0 CT] [Jolt, vs. Impossible Cat, 25D]Harriet rolled 1d12+180 and got 3 ( Total: 183.0 )
Serenity: "Oh."
Amal: "Okay but consider: have you ever tried to train a Rissani attack cat. They're different!"
Serenity: "Huh they covered the snake in dia-ragnite. How bizzare."
JayM: +30% damage!
Math: (183*1.3) = 237.9Amal stares at Serenity briefly. "Isn't that… really creepy?"
[OOC] Harriet: So… 237 damage, I think??
Serenity: "I mean… it's weird, certainly. I duno about creepy…?"
JayM: Battle order: Anton [B]:0 Hughbert [F]:0 Large Cat [B]:0 Strange Snake [B]:1 Mapper [B]:4 Amal [B]:8 Harriet [B]:25 Serenity [B]:48 Sniper Beam:58
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [======= ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [B]: : [======== ]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [B]: : [==== ]
JayM: Anton and Hughbert!
Harriet: "It's kinda creepy."
Serenity: "Roughly as creepy as replacing a broken hip disc with a chunk of metal I guess."Anton stretches before pointing his flashlight beside Hughbert. "Now introducing…~" He aims at point A, B and C. Each time he snaps his fingers a clone of himself appears in the spotlight. [Phantom Rush - 70D | 30D/30D/30D]
Amal: "Hm okay."
JayM: Three clones show in the field
JayM: HughbertHughbert flips his book open and starts charging a whirlpool in the surface of the river. [CT15]The cat meows loudly, fiercely. Their force gear spins up [Accel Drive] and they can Boost(2) [-10D to actions] then it arcs it's back and raises it's tail [Felidar Stinger, CT10]The snake lurches forwards, wraps itself around Hughbert's arms and suddenly, it's wrapped itself around his entire body [Grapple Bind]
JayM: Until it's next turn, any damage against it also damages Hughbert
Serenity: "Yow."The Mapper puts down his force gear and it starts charging [Medicine Exhaust, CT 15]
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Large Cat [B]:2 Hughbert [F]:7 Mapper [B]:11 Harriet [B]:17 S-Anton A [F]:22 S-Anton B [F]:22 S-Anton C [F]:22 Strange Snake [B]:33 Serenity [B]:40 Sniper Beam:50 Anton [B]:62
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [======= ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [B]: : [======== ]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [B]: : [==== ] Boost(2)
JayM: Amal!
Hughbert: "Rrgh… Hard to move, but it's not as bad as it looks."
Anton: "Sorry in advance, Hugh~."Amal throws a web of light over the cat! [Chorus D25]Amal rolled d12+99 and got 1 ( Total: 100 ) for +20% damage to the next thing
JayM: Snake's in the front, btw forgot to mention
JayM: Meaning the cat's taking -20% damage
[OOC] Amal: OK you should probably change it to front row in the tracker
JayM: Battle order: Large Cat [B]:0 Hughbert [F]:5 Mapper [B]:9 Harriet [B]:15 S-Anton A [F]:20 S-Anton B [F]:20 S-Anton C [F]:20 Amal [B]:23 Strange Snake [F]:31 Serenity [B]:38 Sniper Beam:48 Anton [B]:60
JayM: Yeah fixed
[OOC] Serenity: Luckily row mod means nothing to any of usThe cat yowls and snaps it's tail forward- As it does so a spray of gelatinous ragnite fires towards Serenity- It solidifies midair into an arrow of ragnite and strikes not her, but the floor beneath her detonating!JayM rolled 1d8+90 and got 4 ( Total: 94 )It deals [94] magical damage and it scatters into a finy dust of ragnite that seems to burn whe nit touches it your skin. You're inflicted with R-Dust[72](6), you take 72 every action you take, or you can spend a Wait action to cleanse it
JayM: Highbert!
JayM: Hughbert!Hughbert points to the river, then flicks his fingertips upwards- signaling a bursting forth from the whirlpool, striking the cat! [Pressure Stream, 35D]Hughbert rolled 1d10+150 and got 2 ( Total: 152 ) for magic damage
Serenity: "Grah, gross."
JayM: That's a fair bit of damage
[OOC] Amal: is that +20% or
JayM: No it's -20%
Math: (152*0.8) = 121.6
[OOC] Serenity: it's magical damage, so it doesn't care that the cat is backrow, and should further pick up the +20% from chorus
JayM: Oh, right
[OOC] Amal: eat my diiiccckkk
JayM: So it deals +0
JayM: Because it has an innate -20% for having a front row, regardless
JayM: (because it's a Lurker)
Serenity: Oh, it's Hidden?
Serenity: OKThe Mapper finally finishes charging his force gear and a turret deploys from the top of it, he points at Harriet "That was good, try this one" and it fires a powerful wave of force!JayM rolled 1d12+144 and got 10 ( Total: 154 )
Harriet: "Shield, set up!" Harriet snaps, because she totally has warning of that. [-20% damage]
Math: (154*0.8) = 123.2It deals [123] magical damage and the machine exhausts steam!
JayM: Battle order: Harriet [B]:0 S-Anton A [F]:5 S-Anton B [F]:5 S-Anton C [F]:5 Amal [B]:8 Large Cat [B]:15 Strange Snake [F]:16 Serenity [B]:23 Hughbert [F]:25 Sniper Beam:33 Mapper [B]:34 Anton [B]:45
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [======= ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [F]: : [======== ]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [B]: : [== ] Boost(1)
JayM: Harriet!
Harriet: "That was pretty good," Harriet says, as her shield dissipates. "But check this shit out." She fiddles with a knob, flicks a few switches, and her ECC begins to whine as it spins up… [Atom Smasher, CT20]
JayM: Anton, your shadows!
[OOC] Amal: HP:[550[[/span]/550, [TMP: 20] MP: 550/550, LP: 9/9, SoS: 137Anton waves a hand before smiling. "Fire~." A barrage of bolts fly into all three enemies.Anton rolled 3d100 and got 75, 4, 34 ( Total: 113 ) for As listed, 80
[OOC] Anton: SORRY HUGHBERTAnton rolled d10+140 and got 6 ( Total: 146.0 ) for Crit for snaked10*2+140*2: 7 [Total: 294.0 (High), Avg: 7.00]Total: 440.0, Avg: 6.50
JayM: All hits? Nope, the cat suddenly almost vanishes from view, appearing a step behind and the bolt has missed! [Reflex]The whine of his force gear goes louder for a moment
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Large Cat [B]:7 Strange Snake [F]:8 Harriet [B]:12 Serenity [B]:15 Hughbert [F]:17 Sniper Beam:25 Mapper [B]:26 Anton [B]:37
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [====== ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [F]: : [ ]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [B]: : [== ] Boost(1)
JayM: Amal!
Serenity: "They put… a stealth and evasion gear on a cat… with guns? Okay."
[OOC] Hughbert: oh it's "sorry" because I take snek dmg, right
JayM: Oops, bank error in favor of Anton. That still hit the cat in the end, despite having spent the LP on Reflex
JayM: Okay, now Amal
Anton: "Awww man. I figured for sure it'd let up with a hit like that. You okay Hugh?"
Anton: "It's still on you. Somehow."
Serenity: "Dia-ragnite scales."The snake's bleeding red-and-blue and still clings
Mapper: "Dammit- Coils get back here!"
Hughbert: "My system is holding up. I'll be fine." His force gear is beeping noisily.Amal does whatever an Amal does before it bounces up and bops the snake on the head with his staff. [50D]Serenity‘ rolled d100 and got 48 ( Total: 48 )
JayM: A bonk
JayM: The staff hits the snake hard- Hard enough the snake’s spines stick to the staff when he brings it back, it takes a moment to dislodge the unconscious and bleeding snake from his weaponThe cat meowls loudly and lunges forward at an astounding speed, diving past Hughbert and driving his claws into Anton [Prey Weakness]JayM rolled 1d8+105 and got 5 ( Total: 110 )
Math: (110*0.8) = 88
JayM: Dealing [88] physical melee damage and it is now in the front row
JayM: Battle order: Harriet [B]:0 Serenity [B]:3 Hughbert [F]:5 Sniper Beam:13 Mapper [B]:14 Anton [B]:25 Large Cat [F]:35 Amal [B]:38
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [====== ]
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [F]: : [-KO-]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [F]: : [= ]
JayM: Harriet!Harriet pulls down her goggles, and swings her ECC over towards the Mapper, discharging the stored electricity in a frightful burst! [35D 80MP]Harriet rolled 1d12+240 and got 8 ( Total: 248.0 ) for magical damage
Serenity: "Hughbert, you got the cat right? Right."
JayM: Frightening
JayM: Serenity!Serenity‘ exhales slowly, before sizing the mapper up and down a bit while looking for his force gear. "Anyway. Treuchet, right? What’s his mission objective?" [40D] [Gemme Monsters Deetz And Answer The Question] [Mapper Takes +30% from Operations spells (3)]
[OOC] Serenity: HP:[334[[/span]/500, [TMP: 20] MP: 600/600, LP: 9/9, SoS: 125 - R-Dustp[72] (5)
[OOC] Harriet: HP:[477[[/span]/600, MP: 560/700, LP: 7/8, SoS: 150
Serenity: "Druid, huh?"
Serenity: "Land ain't very happy with your current actions though."Anton whistles. "Neat trick."
JayM: Hughbert!
[OOC] Anton: HP:[600[[/span]/600, MP: 490/550, LP: 6/7, SoS: 150Amal raises both eyebrows.
Serenity: "It's not really a fan of kidnapping, or secret transportation of war devices."Hughbert gets another Pressure Stream ready. [CT15]Serenity‘ rolls her head around on her shoulders briefly, giving the Mapper a disapproving look.
Anton: "For real though, do that again sometime. I have trouble seeing colors." He nods to Serenity.
JayM: Sniper
JayM: Beeeeeam!
Serenity: "What?"A burst of bright white light errupts from underneath the Mapper, sending him flying into the wall.
JayM: huge damagesSerenity` rolled d12+360,130% and got 8 ( Total: 478.40000000000003 )Anton fires a bolt at the mapper.Anton rolled 1d100 and got 42 ( Total: 42 ) for 80Anton rolled d12+140 and got 5 ( Total: 145.0 )From below and up to the ceiling! He hits hard and falls to the floor, standing up. Light arcs of blue-ish energy go through his body like static electricity. Before he can react Anton’s bolt pins him to the wallHe looks at you… But by now has bled too much, has no more strength to stay awake
JayM: Battle order: Hughbert [F]:0 Anton [B]:5 Harriet [B]:15 Large Cat [F]:15 Amal [B]:18 Serenity [B]:23
JayM: Status for Mapper [B]: : [-KO-] Scouted(3)
JayM: Status for Strange Snake [F]: : [-KO-]
JayM: Status for Large Cat [F]: : [= ]
JayM: Hughbert!
Anton: "Thanks for the confession, by the way~. You found out all you needed to know, Serenity?"Hughbert blasts the cat in the side with a stream! [Pressure Stream, 35D]Hughbert rolled 1d10+150 and got 6 ( Total: 156 ) for magic damage
JayM: … I'm not making this fight last longer because of 30 health when you all gotstrike assists
Serenity: 'Wasn't really much to it beyond that. Looking for a secret passage into the city they can spirit away people with, and deliver 'undiscovered devices', whatever that means. "Serenity‘ snaps her fingers as the water hungbert just launched explodes again. [Assist]
JayM: The stream of water hits it on the side and strikes him against the wall, it yelps and… Tries to stand!
JayM: But
JayM: It lacks the strength
JayM: Thus scattered before you is a man who lost enough blood to lose his consciousness, a cat whose limbs lack the strength to stand and a snake with a concussionAmal lets out a little puff of breath. "We know who he was working for in any detail? Anyways, uh."
Anton: "Oh, shoot. I forgot to do that whole you’re under arrest, speech! Oh well. Let's take him into custody."
Amal: "I guess… we get snake and cat hostages this time, too? They're at least easier to carry?"
Serenity: "Well, he's not dead."
Serenity: "So."
Harriet: "I need to figure out how that cat works. Maybe Pierre in biology can figure it out."
Harriet: "I don't think I pissed him off permanently by filling his latest paper with red ink."
Harriet: "Eh, I'm sure he's over it by now."
Hughbert: "Trust me, they get over it."
Serenity: "As the arresting officer, though,"
Serenity: "You totally get to drag him back Anton."Serenity‘ glances down the tunnel where the water drains and seems to concentrate a bit.Anton tosses his flashlight to Serenity before binding the man and hauling him over his shoulder. "Then you get to be on double flashlight duty. Cheers~."
Hughbert: "Should we try to capture their accomplices?
Serenity: "Wh - grah!"Serenity` picks the flashlight up off the ground, scowls slightly, turns it back on and then wraps the headband attachment around anton’s head. "What exactly did you think that strap was for, you idiot?"
Anton: "It made me look like a ninja!" He gives her a grin and a thumbs up.
Serenity: "Anyway. Doesn't seem like any of the others managed to turn on their gears so… we're probably in the clear? That was a lot of fast moving water."
JayM: You can probably start heading back, yeah
Anton: "If we hurry, we might even be back for dinner!"
Harriet: "Right, eating is a thing people have to do to live, apparently."
Hughbert: "Wait… I believe we're forgetting something. Keep an eye out. There was that other… unknown."
Serenity: "Not it on cat carrying."
Harriet: "Not it either."Amal grabs the cat. Gosh.
Anton: "Those guys were washed away really hard at least. Wherever they are, they aren't nearby now."
Harriet: "Yeah they're probably dead."
Serenity: "That's what I was hearing too, yeah."
Harriet: "That or they wish they were."Hughbert gives Amal a hand. "I don't believe you look comfortable hauling that much on your own…"
Serenity: "I guess I'll take point. Shout out directions at needed, Amal."Serenity‘ turns her flashlight on and starts walking back.
Anton: "I remember the way we came well enough. Don’t worry Amal, I know child labour laws~." He winks at him.
Anton: "You can get a break!"It's not a big deal to get back… Sure the path is windy but it is… Uneventful. As you finally step out of the cave system you're greeted by a gentle and refreshing breeze that blows past you with a scatter of petalsAmal chuckles a little, takes a deep breath.The carriage is still waiting, the driver is reading a book
Serenity: "…What's the word on the Al Detector?"Harriet squeezes out through the crack again. Still inconvenient with all her gear, oh well.Anton makes his way over to the driver and peers over his shoulder. "And what do we have here? Oh how I've longed to explore the latest in Masharas fan fiction."He gives you a flat stare… It's… A romance novel, yes.
Drive: "Hi"
Hughbert: "We have a few extra passengers to bring back. You know who to send the bill to, if you charge more for that, sir."
Anton: "Sadly their destined reunion will have to wait my good friend. Our trip back must be completed posthaste. Preferably before they wake up and get too rowdy."
Driver: "Been told i'd have to hopefully bring in a few…" he looks at the party, then the snake "What is that thing"
Harriet: "It's a snake with added dia-ragnite decals."
Driver: "Don't actually wanna know. Come on, let's head back"
Serenity: "Snake coated in dia-ragnite."Serenity‘ climbs in.Harriet heads on in.He puts away his book and waits for you all to get in before heading backHughbert follows suit.The trip back is uneventful, aside from getting the cable car all to yourself and realizing the car you took back was immediatelly changed so they could go wash this one
JayM: Going back to report? Or wanna stop elsewhere first?Serenity` is still keeping her, uh, senses out for the sound of Al’s force gear.Anton is heading back to report at least. He spends the trip on the tram writing in a book.Amal heads back to report of course!Harriet heads back in to report too. If only to continue operation: skim all those books.Hughbert can't think of anything more pressing than delivering the prisoners.Once you finally get back, and head back to report… You find that the meeting room still has Cor Caroli and the Pope. However, the table now has quite a lot of pastries and you can hear the loud breathing of the Pope, asleep in the couch with a blanket over her. Cor Caroli is in the opposite couch, looking at a book, a bit too tired to really read it
Serenity: "…How long have they been married, anyway?"Amal rolls in and gives Cor Caroli a big thumbs up.
Anton: "Twelve percent? For that? I think you should leave the near sighted estimates to me, Cor. You aren't even that good at seeing the short term."Cor Caroli looks up "You have no idea how important you are, Anton. You dieing in there would have been a disaster… But… Anyway"Anton rolls his eyes before patting his chest. "Obviously! I'm the next divine oracle, remember?"She looks at Serenity "Not at all. But since we've been working together… Let's say we've seen enough of eachother"Harriet grabs a pastry, shoves it in her face, inhales it and goes to grab another book from the bookcase.Cor shakes her head "She wouldn't go to bed, so I had to induce a sugar crash on her"Amal chuckles a little. "Don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen to Anton on my watch."
Serenity: "Sure, okay."
Cor Caroli: "Regardless, I see you're back. What'd you find out?"
Harriet: "Cats are bullshit," Harriet comments, not looking up.
Serenity: "They do weird things to snakes."Cor looks at Harriet "You met a Scorpiora, then? They're-" she looks at Serenity "Weird?" she closes her eyes thinking "Describe weird"Anton grins at Amal.
Serenity: "Covered in dia-ragnite, trained to act as a sentient grappling hook and shocktrooper."Serenity‘ drops the snake on the table.Cor furrows her eyebrows and looks up, somewhere
Hughbert: "I made sure their leader as well as the weaponized snake and cat were all taken into custody as soon as we arrived."
Cor Caroli: "… Oh, no they didn’t…"Serenity‘ or doesn’t. Hughbert's idea is probably more sane.
Cor Caroli: "But it matches the reports"
Cor Caroli: "Oh, they did, I cannot believe those imbeciles at Terra Medical did it"
Amal: "Did what?"
Harriet: "Did what?"Cor Caroli looks at Serenity "That's the 'unknown danger' I was looking for… Those things are… Bah, best description is monsters"
Cor Caroli: "There's some story to this"
Serenity: "Aha."
Cor Caroli: "You know ragnite can be used to enhanced medicine of all sorts"
Cor Caroli: "Among medicine is… Narcotics"
Serenity: "Hmm."
Hughbert: "…Hmm. I didn't think we ran into the unknown danger you mentioned, but if there's more of those creatures running about…"
Cor Caroli: "You don't mix ragnite and narcotics, they become not just immensely addictive… They change not you but… Your descendants"
Serenity: "Yeah I could see that." Serenity spreads her arms wide. "'Snort the Goddess, become one!'"
Cor Caroli: "It's not nice, i'm talking about terrible, awful deformities"
Cor Caroli: "I'm talking about your body acting as a force gear, burning yourself to death… It's… Terrible"Amal stares at Cor Caroli in abject horror.
Cor Caroli: "We did some… Early research on that but once the effects had shown to be this… Kind of stuff. We abandoned, and demanded of our research partners to abandon as well"Anton chuckles. "And yet there's still an underground market for that sort of stuff. The things people do, eh?"
Cor Caroli: "Yes…"Harriet shrugs. "Not surprised."
Cor Caroli: "Turns out, if reports are correct and you just proven they are… They are weaponizing this"
Cor Caroli: "Apparently Terchuan has been working on making living weapons, monsters, like this"Anton glances out the window. "Half expecting this place to explode any second now, though. Al never showed up during the final test and he was around for everything else."
Amal: "Why- augh."
Harriet: "They must be gettin' desperate."
Anton: "He's probably folding his hands on a chair in a cafe down the street and then suddenly the rope snake explodes!" He slams his fist into his hand and makes a 'fwooooooooomn' sound effect with his lips.
Cor Caroli: "I don't doubt anything with him. But that'd be easy to expect at this point"
Amal: "Serenity, what you said before sounded like you knew somehow that he thought he was doing what he was doing in the land's name, not- because his people were starving, or anything. I don't know much about Terchuan; what are we dealing with?"
Ezekiel: "Oh. Uh."
[OOC] Ezekiel: fuk
Serenity: "Uhh. How do I explain this…"
Serenity: "It's not so much that's why he was doing it, I don't really know why perse, but."
Serenity: "He was a druid. Which are like… their kinda weird, smoke pot, talk to trees version of priests, in their land."Serenity‘ gives a ’correct me if I'm wrong' glance to Harriet.
Serenity: "And the spooks didn't really seem happy with what he was doing."Amal nods.Harriet grabs a notebook from her belt and scribbles down some notes. She glances up to Serenity and nods before going back to it.Anton visibly pouts. "Man. I want to talk to something weird too."
Serenity: "So I was mostly just -"
Amal: "So maybe… there's a faction within Terchuan that we could approach."Serenity‘ reaches over and smacks Anton on the back of the head.
Serenity: "You do, dumbass."Anton winces before smiling. "Amal is my friend, it’s true!"
Serenity: "I mean you DO do something weird!"
Serenity: "Which is weirder than my thing, even."
Serenity: "But not as weird as Amal's."
Anton: "I don't talk to the future, Serenity. Geeze!"
Serenity: "Yeah you just PEER INTO IT from the present."
Serenity: "At least my thing's actually here and tangible."Amal actually giggles.
Harriet: "Anyway, chasing up Matheus is still my best guess with that shit," Harriet shrugs. "But he's, like, off fighting at this point, probably? I can't exactly just send him a telegram."
Cor Caroli: "He's a point of contact, also reason why I didn't intervene earlier when that happened. That said, we can probably discuss the specifics of the beginning of your mission tomorrow"
Cor Caroli: "I'm sure you're all tired"
Amal: "Anyways, 12 percent is 100 percent, we're the Fatebreakers. Time to get some sleep?" They say, hopefully. (Huge dark circles under their eyes, like they've been up for days.)
Hughbert: "I've got some snake blood I need to wash off, that much is certain."
Anton: "You kidding? I'm hungry!" He drives this point in by grabbing a pastry and shoving it in his mouth.
Serenity: "All things considered that was way easier than the other things,"
Serenity: "But still a lot of walking."
Harriet: "And climbing."Hughbert grabs a pastry or two as well.Anton glances at Amal before speaking up once again with his mouth full. "-t -oesn't -ean - -uch - -ou -hink. -ey- -ot -en -eal."
Serenity: "You uh."
Serenity: "Might wanna send some people into the tunnels, though,"
Serenity: "To find whatever's left of the other eight."Cor nods "I'll contact the Major and arrange it"Amal fell asleep in their chair.
JayM: And tis the end of it
[OOC] JayM: +7 XP